the white house feels very burned by the 2011 debt ceiling negotiations. they feel like they have the leverage. and they're leaving it up to boehner to capitulate. >> do you think that president obama feels that he has unilateral control of the purse? >> no, but they think that they have enough leverage that they can force republicans to put the debt ceiling into any package that they eventually come up with. and if they don't, he feels like there is some other way that he can force them to deal with this issue. >> if this is a power of the purse issue and it falls on congress, not on the president, the president would be overstepping his power. because he -- does he want to have unilateral control defacto of the purse? >> no, i don't think i wants unilateral control. what he wants to do is force the republicans in the house to do what he wants. >> which means he wants control. >> well, i mean it is a political issue, okay? the republicans have their own abilities to lean back against the democrats on all of this and against obama and i suspect they will t